Mind that building!

Back from seeing the folks in Warwick. The town was this weekend host to its annual Mop fair, which takes place in the main streets and squares.

Did I hear you ask what a Mop is? Well, for the uninitiated, it's a traditional 'hiring' fair where labourers and servants would gather near to Old Michaelmas Day to find employment. They would carry an item to identify their trade. And if you had no particular skills, you would hold a mop head. Various stalls providing food and entertainment were set up in addition to the Mop's main function as an employment dating service.

A week later the town hosts the Runaway Mop, which would have offered those people unhappy with their new jobs - or for employers disappointed with their new staff - a second chance to find work.

These days, the Mop is no longer an outdoor job centre, but simply a funfair. Warwick's dates back nearly 700 years, and I have fond memories of visiting as a kid. The close proximity of the old buildings adds an extra thrill that you don't find at regular fairgrounds. There's nothing like the prospect of plunging headlong into the roof of a Georgian townhouse to excite the senses, as this video shows... Apologies for the poor quality, but I just grabbed it on the hoof.

Mops are held in a small number of old market towns, mainly in the Cotswolds/Midlands area. Expect Iain Duncan Smith to pilot 21st century Mop jobseeker fairs in the near future.